


The Long Road.

by RabbitOnSteroids



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Ruben belongs to Kris
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-01
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-02-09 08:20:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12883836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RabbitOnSteroids/pseuds/RabbitOnSteroids
Summary: Meet Ruben.Just your basic, Mafia!Fell Bara Sans.Not unusual at all...except for his past, of course.





	1. The Beginning.

Ruben couldn't believe this.  
Well, he could, but it just..

It sucked. It really did.

Once again, he found himself entering another multiverse bar, trying to get away from his life for a while. This time the alcohol didn't taste as great as he remembered; but he also got shit-faced drunk last time. He was surprised that he remembered anything about that night.  
...  
He sighed, _'Sometimes I wish he wasn't such a fucking asshole.'_  
Ruben loved his brother, but he wondered what in the actual fuck he did in his childhood to make his brother act so.. he sighed.  
There really was no use going back into this, he came here to forget, after all. So he did what he did best when it came to his brother.. he caved in.  
_'Hey; if he's right.. no point cryin' over spilled milk.'_

Some movement to his left caught his attention, and glancing over, noticed that a stranger had decided to sit beside him, Ruben quickly brought up his liquid fire and downed it in one go.

"Geez, it's almost like you're tryin' to challenge me or somethin'," this stranger mentioned casually.  
..whoops. Ruben kinda forgot he had been staring. Reverting his gaze back to his empty glass, he thought about what he noticed about the guy.. he seemed pretty laid back, but the glare in his eyelight was something Ruben knew all too well.  
Ah, yes.

This guy was pissed off.

"Maybe. Think you could keep up with me?" Ruben smirked, knowing that he might be getting into more than he could handle; but fuck it.  
The new guy scoffed.

"I can fuckin' _own_ your ass, tough guy," the stranger sneered.

Ruben sighed. This was still better than the alternative.

"Well then, raise a glass."

The bartender (surprisingly not a Grillby, which made Ruben wonder what AU it was that he had found himself in; he hadn't exactly been paying attention to where he was going beforehand) approached the two upon being waved over. Then the bartender poured them each a glass with no hesitation.  
They both shot it down quickly, and the stranger looked down at his shotglass with mild surprise, and mostly disgust.

"Fuck this shit; it's so watered down that Chillby wouldn't be able to sell this without gettin' killed," the stranger raised a brow at Ruben, nudging him and grinning dangerously, "Wanna go get some good stuff..?"  
Ruben raised a brow.

"Good stuff, huh?"  
The stranger nodded.

"I know a good bar, kinda shitty place, with shitty people.. but at least it has good booze."

 _'Fuck it. Why not?'_  
Mentally shrugging, Ruben gave a lazy half-a-grin.

"Alright then," Ruben gestured towards the door, "Lead the way."

 

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The bar that this stranger had brought him to was indeed the place of nightmares. The corner of the building had collapsed in on itself; which, when they walked in, Ruben found was blocked off by boards. It also had a cold draft; which while it didn't affect him much personally -being a skeletal monster and all- he could understand why the other creatures around him were bitter. While he was walking past, he slowed his gait down enough so that he could peer through the boards. Ruben could see that the other side appeared to contain a few cracked, snow-covered-stairs. The stairs that went up farther than four appeared to be shattered; which indicated a heavy force colliding with the building. From the directional angel, he thought it would be safe to assume there was a cave-in at some point. Still, these stairs raised the question to if there was a second floor in all the bars, or just this one.

This thought however, was interrupted by the few beings that resided inside of this run-down building. Most of them had scars, and were scowling at the two new monsters that had entered. The stranger puffed himself out, glaring at the others and sneering his sharp teeth at them; holding their glares until they turned away.  
Ruben threw his broad shoulders back, bringing himself to his full height and pushing out his gut for maximum bodily volume. After that, he only had to narrow his sockets to get these monsters to turn away from him..  
Not that he didn't still feel their stares when he turned his back. There was one of these beings in which even while they were wasted on the table (and the only identifiable reason that they weren't dead is because they weren't a pile of dust), they were still mildly intimidating.

Ruben's attention was briefly brought back to the stranger when the guy had approached the bar.  
"Ey, fuckface. Pour us a glass already, huh?"  
The way this guy just.. /demanded/ a drink-

"Shut the fuck up, Red. I know what you want, so just sit your ass down and I'll get it."  
..apparently everyone was like this.

While he was mildly shocked from the sudden change in atmosphere, Ruben wasn't surprised that the people were like this.  
Red -apparently- _had_ given him warning; and the guy acted like this himself, so..

While Ruben had been taking in the damage-there had been large scorch marks on the eastern wall, along with water stains; suggesting there was a fire and someone doused it (or tried to)-and otherwise looking around. Upon this point, Red had grown tired of waiting for Ruben to follow him to the bar. In his defense, Ruben was still meandering on over, and generally taking his time. Yet, after Red had made himself obviously comfortable upon his bar stool (see: half on the counter), he snapped back at Ruben, who just realized that the other patrons were once again starting to show more interest in this new strange entity in their domain.

"Hey you fat fuck, you gettin' over here or what?"  
Ruben made it the rest of the way in nearly four steps, easily brushing off the insult.  
He was too used to it to care.  
After Ruben made it to the counter, the other patrons turned back to their own business, stealing glances in Red and Ruben's direction every so often. Ruben sat down on the next bar stool; it slightly wobbled to the left, which made Ruben worried for a moment, then it stilled.

Red grinned in a not-at-all-friendly manner,

"Ya ready to get w r e c k e d?"  
Ruben grinned back, showing his sharp teeth in a smile that was more neutral than threatening.

"You better fucking believe it."

The bartender slid a few glasses over, and Red threw a few G at them.  
This bartender, surprisingly, was in fact a Grillby, but not one that Ruben recognized.. must be an off-branch of the Fell universe though; if looks were anything to go by.  
..light purple and a bit of dark blue weren't good colors for Grillby, that was for sure.

"'Ey, bottoms up," Ruben turned to lock eyes with Red, who already had his drink in hand, gesturing with it for Ruben to do the same.  
Picking it up, Ruben lifted it, and in one smooth movement, both of them had downed their contents.

..Ruben felt the heat in his massive stomach spreading, and he knew then that he was well and truly fucked.

"Another one," Red barked, slamming a few more G on the counter, Ruben watched him from the corner of his socket. His world was starting to become a bit brighter, softer at the edges of things. He wasn't sure if he could handle any more drinks, but when the hazy image of the glass came into his vision, he picked it up and downed it anyways. It was followed by a slam on the counter to his left, indicating Red had done the same.

Gripping the counter, Ruben mentally cursed the lopsided seat underneath his ass, that wasn't exactly helping his now-nonexistent balance. The room wasn't spinning, he didn't know why others always said the the room would spin when you're drunk. It's much more like you're in a boat on the ocean.. or what he would imagine as a boat on an ocean, with waves rocking the entire foundation back and fourth. Either way, his gut was starting to churn heavily, and Ruben was doing all he could to keep down the very potent beverage.  
The last thing he needed right now was to lose his liquids and look like the loser who couldn't even handle a few drinks.. he'd probably get killed; though at this point it seemed like a blessing. His nausea was currently being accompanied by a low pounding in his skull. Which, while this wasn't painful; it practically guaranteed a massive headache later..  
This would be the reason that Ruben didn't drink the heavier shit. As potent as it was at making him forget his problems, it really wasn't worth the pain.

"Anoth'r one, c'mon ya pussy," Red finally seemed to notice that Ruben was losing it, "What, can't even take your third? 'M only buzzed ov'r here, c'mon."  
..Ruben thought Red sounded just a bit more than a little buzzed, but with the way Red had been handling his alcohol, it would probably taken him some time to get as well and thoroughly shit-faced as Ruben was going to be.  
Through his blurred view, Ruben managed to pick up the third and choke it down, much to Red's apparent appraisal.. then he started coughing, and Red pounded on his back a few times.

"For fucks sake, ya r'lly can't handle it, can ya..? Whatev'r," stumbling out of his seat before righting himself, turning towards the larger, "C'mon, ya fuck'r, lessgo."  
Ruben made to stand, and damn-near fell off his stool. If it wasn't for the danger pricking at the back of his mind, he might've let himself; if only because he could fall asleep faster.  
Even the floor can be comfortable enough, if you're that drunk.

After Ruben had stumbled out off of his stool, he followed what he imagined was the silhouette of Red between different blobs and slabs of brown that made up the tables and booths over the bar. However.. the second Ruben got outside he let himself collapse into the snow.

"Get up, ya dumb fuck, ya want someon' to try an' kill ya..?" Ruben felt a tug on his shirt, and after he made several attempts that ended him face-first back in the snow, he had managed to get himself up again, "Finally.." 

Ruben felt something latch onto his arm, and after a moment of vertigo (which really didn't help his nausea); found himself in a warmer, darker, dank-smelling room. Mostly musky and moldy scented. It wasn't warm as a house should be, but it was better than being outside.  
He might be a skeleton, but hey; even he had temperatures that made him comfortable.

It was when he noticed that he was being nudged, only barely registering it through his drunkenness, that he noticed that they were in a bedroom.. especially when something hit his knees, and he went face-first down.. onto a bed. Ruben felt something spreading his legs, and start rubbing on him through the crotch of his pants, and in his alcohol haze, he groaned.

"W-What..?"  
Something grabbed down by the back of his neck, pushing him further into the mattress.

"Hey, I paid fer yer drinks; ya could at leas' pay me back," Ruben could feel the hot breath where his ear would have been, the low growl from the other igniting a fire in his stomach that was unlike the one caused by the alcohol. This one spread down to his groin, where Red was still currently rubbing off on him, grinding his pelvis against Ruben's without any sort of remorse.

 _'I suppose that's fair,'_ Ruben mused in his drunken thoughts.  
He could use the distraction anyways.

Ruben could feel his pants being taken off (shoes and slippers respectively already gone); albeit Red fumbled a bit, a little more than intoxicated himself. After his momentary fight with the clothes, he yanked down Ruben's pants and boxers in one go, tossing them to the floor. Upon revealing Ruben's lower-half, Red gave out a soft curse, staring at his thick, spread legs and large glorious ass. Even his pussy was starting to glisten with desire.  
Ruben was starting to consider looking back to see what was taking so long, when he felt a handful of his backside being squeezed roughly, both cheeks receiving the tough treatment from the clawed fingers of Red. Ruben groaned, the fire building up further in his belly as he lifted his ass-end into the air, inviting Red, who wasted no time in trying to shove his own shorts down, kicking them off and to the side.

Ruben had been getting impatient, yet right as he started getting up, Red took the moment to shove his member inside of Ruben, ready or not.  
Now with Red firmly holding onto him by the hips, digging his claws into the sensitive skin there, Red started pounding into Ruben with a ferocity that Ruben hadn't quite been prepared for, but could enjoy it none-the-less.

"Nnngh, faaaa.." Ruben groaned quietly, trying to stifle his moans as he could feel his stomach jiggle every time Red rammed himself into his core. It's a good thing he had been laying down, because his legs were starting to feel like jelly.  
He could feel Red's cock inside him, pounding furiously against his walls. It was hot, like iron, as it penetrated him every time. Ruben felt it, when Red took himself out. He growled slightly, not in the mood to be teased, when he felt Red start pushing him forward, until his skull, chest and shoulders hung off the other side of the bed. Ruben gripped the side of the mattress as Red climbed up, laying down partially on top of his prone frame. Red quickly ripped off the shift Ruben was wearing, his claws making short work of the cloth. Then he was grasping at the rolls of fat Ruben carried on his front, to keep him from scooting away by the sheer force Red was exerting. His body re-positioned, he started fucking Ruben again, more ruthlessly this time. His hips were now moving like pistons, and since Ruben was sufficiently wet and adjusted, it was driving him insane as the heat continued to build, nearing its peak.  
Ruben missed stifling one of his moans.

"Ahh!!"

"Yeah? Ya like that, fuck boy? I hope so, 'cause 'm not stoppin'."

Ruben wanted so badly to cum. He could /feel/ it, it was /right there/. He started lifting his hips, trying to meet Red's thrusts and match his pace. This got a growl of approval from Red, who started thrusting more erratically, until Ruben felt something shooting inside of him. It oozed out between them, down his legs, hot and thick. Red sighed, his thrusts slowing down, but not stopping.

Ruben squirmed, trying to get the other to move faster.

"Tch, stop moving, we ain't done here," upon glancing over his shoulder with a questioning glance, Red laughed at him, "What? Ya think 'm finished? Nah, this was only round one. This'll take awhile, Sweetcheeks," as if to emphasize the pun, Red reached over and once again grabbed Ruben's ass. It easily filled his hand. Red squished it, slapping it once before going back to grab the rolls at his stomach.

"I told ya, 'm not stoppin'," Red continued his slower, steady pace, and Ruben could feel the heat burning, lingering, begging to be released.  
Ruben whined and groaned, grinding up against Red, trying to encourage his pace.

"Fuck," Red gasped, "Ya _really_ want me to destroy that sweet pussy of yers, huh?" Ruben nodded venomously, thrusting up against the other with his hips and clenching his walls around Red's dick.  
Red groaned, increasing the speed, much to Ruben's pleasure, and proceeded to fuck him senseless.

At the point where Ruben finally reached his peak, he was panting from effort of trying to keep up with Red; it was a lot of exercise he wasn't used to.

A keening sound came from Ruben's mouth as he came, hard. His eyelights rolled back into his skull, and he could distantly register hearing Red cursing in the background of his mind. Ruben felt something jet into him at the peak of his orgasm, and with Red continuing to fuck him, Ruben rode out the wave of his high. He went limp, and made another discovery: his over-sensitivity was causing his heat to come back faster this time, and it was quickly leading to his second orgasm.  
And with the way Red kept rocking into him -Ruben was nearly off the side of the bed, having to use his weakened arms to push himself from the floor while Red was wrecking him- it wouldn't take much longer.

"Yer not gonna be able to _-fuck-_ walk tomorrow," Red panted, squeezing the faux flesh rolls between his fingers as his pace increased even more, "An' don' expect me to apol'gize."  
Ruben hoped he was right. It had been awhile since he had had this much fun.

Ruben almost didn't notice the change in tempo; the dick inside of him had slipped out almost completely, before being slammed back into him at full force. Giving an incomprehensible shout, it wasn't even any understandable words as Ruben was well and truly, in the most literal sense, fucked. Red kept this process up, slowly increasing his thrust until he was slamming into Ruben once more, quickly reaching his own stamina limit.  
Ruben was lost in his own world of pleasure, just letting Red do as he pleased (it certainly pleased _him,_ so why not).

As Red continued, he leaned over Ruben more, pressing himself as close as possible as he came inside of Ruben, for the third time. As he came, Red bit down on the lower part of Ruben's neck, sinking his teeth into Ruben's shoulder.  
Ruben, who had been in his own place, felt Red coming.. and then the bite on his shoulder. This forced his second orgasm, and he cried out in a mix of pleasure and pain. Ruben was seeing spots of white and black at this point, while Red was still coming inside of him.  
After they both finished with their highs, Ruben could feel their combined cum sloshing around inside of him, contained inside of him via his doggy-style position, and Red's dick.  
While Red lay on top of him, Ruben slowly noticed he came to his senses, and slowly pulled himself out.

"Fuck.. yer not bad, y'know that..?" Red's sleepy tone reached him, and Ruben looked towards him just in time to see Red wipe off his dick with a corner of a blanket, and toss it aside.  
Feeling mildly disgusted by that sight, Ruben sat up, and immediately felt all of their cum trailing down his legs in small rivets.  
He shuddered, and stood, legs barely supporting him.

Looking over, Red was already passed out, and it seemed Ruben would have to find the bathroom on his own. Judging by how this room was familiar though; he didn't think it would be that hard.  
After finding it (which was actually the simple part), he cleaned himself up (which was the part that took about forty-five minutes, with how unstable his legs were being at the moment). After that, he went back to Red's room, too tired to try to get home, so he just lay beside Red.

_'I am fuckin' exhausted.. heh.'_

Ruben watched Red sleep, a peaceful look on his skull. He was already starting to drool a bit, but Ruben didn't really care. The alcohol in his system, combined with the afterglow of orgasm was starting to lull Ruben into a light rest, which turned into a knocked-out sort of sleep before he could register what was happening.  
..maybe this could work.

 

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Waking up the next morning, Ruben was surprised to find that Red was still sleeping, right next to him. Sometime during the night, they had become tangled up with each other; legs tangled, and Ruben's arms clinging to Red for dear life. Red simply draped his own arm over Ruben's ribs and right arm, holding him possessively. Ruben felt something flutter inside his soul, and he gently smiled at the other being resting peacefully beside him. Red hadn't left before Ruben had woken up, like his brother might have-if he even stayed that long. Instead, Red had provided Ruben with a place to stay for the night, away from his troubled life. A small shelter, of sorts.

Ruben took this moment, tucking it away into the furthest recesses of his mind. It was a peaceful moment. A positive moment. Something he very rarely had, and he planned to keep moments like these close, so he could hold onto something when times got rough.

And in his universe?

Rough was the only constancy, having to do terrible, horrendous things just to survive in his gang. Being ordered to murder women, children, and anyone who might've been a potential witness.. watching the life slip from their eyes, turning them into empty, glassed-over orbs. Hearing the screams of agony, only for them to be cut short as he ripped out the mass of flesh that made up the vocal cords; the guttering, wet, sickening sounds that emitted from them. Feeling their blood oozing between the joints of his phalanges, how it dripped down his radius. How sometimes (more than he would like to admit), Ruben felt their bodily fluids spatter across his face and clothes because he hadn't made a solid, clean, _lethal_ cut in one go.  
Ruben shuddered and nuzzled closer to Red.

He wasn't there. They weren't here. He didn't have to do that right now.  
Taking a few deep, calming breaths like he had taught himself to do, he thought about how he was here, in this moment. About how Red was with him.. and how at least he showed a remote interest in himself; one that didn't seem to be malicious.

There wasn't any need to feel like he wasn't in control.

Noticing that Red was shifting, Ruben went back to pretending to be asleep, choosing to lay his skull down on the side of the mattress instead of Red's shoulder. He could feel Red leaning upwards, probably propping himself on his left arm. The right one was still wrapped around him, after all.

"..shit. How did we even get this fuckin'-" Deciding to rub his face into the mattress a little bit, Ruben successfully gave off the appearance of stirring, but not waking.

"-..fuck," Red was whispering this time, "Fuck, fuck, fuck," Red began the long and arduous process of trying to untangle himself from Ruben without 'waking' him up; Ruben dare not give himself away, mainly because he was being an ass and enjoying Red's whispered curses and struggles.  
When Red finally got free he threw his legs over the side of the bed, sitting up fully. Ruben didn't open either socket, still yet willing to be caught, but he didn't feel any movement on the mattress after that, or hear any sounds of shuffling on the carpet to indicate where Red might be.  
After fifteen minutes of simply laying there, he had been about to break and crack open an eye socket when he heard Red sigh.

"This lil' fucker.. might as well wake 'im. How do I explain this to Boss?"  
Ruben didn't need to question who this was to understand. He's visited the Fell Universe before, and only a Fell-Papyrus would be called Boss. This greatly concerned Ruben, but he was very careful to keep the appearance of any such emotion off his face while he pretended to be sleeping.  
Then, he felt his shoulder being jostled.

"'Ey. 'Ey! Wake up!"  
_'No more pretendin','_ Ruben supposed. Giving a sleep-logged groan (which wasn't that hard, considering how tired he had been), he pried open the socket that wasn't pressed up against the bed and peered up at Red, who was towering above him.

"Ya gotta get goin'. My bro notices ya, an' yer dead."  
_'Called it.'_

As Ruben moved to sit up, he realized two things. One, he would have to go back into his own timeline and report back to his brother and gang.  
Secondly, he noticed he was stark naked, and while he wasn't too bothered by it (they had just fucked, after all), he remembered his shirt had literally been torn off of his back. While he was looking around the room for his clothes, Ruben glanced up to see Red still watching him.

"See somethin' you like there, pal?"  
Red snorted, turning to gather his own clothes and get dressed. By getting dressed, he purposefully wore the same clothing he had dropped on the floor last night. Ruben might've done the same, but his brother had been working on training him better.

"Jus' get the fuck outta my house."  
That.. shouldn't have hurt Ruben as much as it did.  
Which, admittedly, wasn't a lot. But yet.. yeah, he hadn't expected to stay, sure; it's just, still, Red hadn't even-  
Maybe it was a one night stand? Ruben _has_ had a few of those before, after all.

After finding the shreds of his shirt, Ruben shook his skull and let go of it, watching as it fluttered back to the floor in a heap. There was no point in keeping that anymore. His brother would kill him if he noticed he had wrecked another good shirt, while Red either didn't notice, or didn't care that it still lay in his room.  
Slipping on his boxers and pants in one go, he looked for his shoes, and easily opened up a 'backdoor' to his own room.

Then he walked through, without so much a single glance back.

 

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Ruben's own AU was business as usual. Thankfully, he didn't have to go out to conduct said business today; instead, he sat outside some room, with some other gang's members, keeping an eye on them while their leaders conducted business.  
He thanked his stars that there wasn't a single gunshot heard this time.

The tension between rival gangs was rising all the time. It was so thick now, that should two of any opposite gang members meet, with or without their comrades, there would be bloodshed.  
Ruben was careful when he would walk the streets, and usually didn't leave his home after dusk (unless his brother or the gang had a _request_ for him to do). Trouble usually spouted when twilight came around, and everyone in town knew it. Even the bravest of humans wouldn't be stupid enough to trek out after dark; because they ran a high risk of not coming home later in the evening. By the time the sun had risen the next morn, the police had already started the search for dead bodies around the city.

Ruben's current gang in particular was being sought out by the police; yet every trail had turned cold. This was because every witness that their gang had ever produced was terminated; usually by Ruben himself. However, sometimes he got lucky and was out on field duty, so some other unfortunate bastard had to try to kill one of his own friends.  
There were other times that Ruben could remember that were.. not so favorable.

Like the last time one of the officers had nearly got one of their own.

Ruben had been going to help them; they were a monster, just like the rest of the gang.  
It had happened while they were raiding a rival gangs warehouse. Ruben was searching a crate when the police arrived, and everyone pulled out their guns. Now, this particular member had just joined, not two weeks ago, after getting past all of the.. qualifications, and the little mouse monster had handled his gun excellently. He must have had some sort of training, for being so young. As soon as he noticed the police, Ruben had vaulted over said crate, climbing up a few more when the police had burst in. Looking back now, he had plenty of time to help the kid get away. Being so young, new to a gang, the kid was inexperienced. Being inexperienced in a gang would get you killed.  
So when the little guy had backed himself into a corner, trapping himself as he switched from crate to crate to avoid getting shot, Ruben already knew what was going to transpire by the end of it. The small monster was under heavy fire, and the rest of the gang had pulled back, carrying the goods; only a few members were still providing cover fire. Ruben watched, as the police had been closing in on him.  
The helplessness in his small eyes. The way his ears folded back. The hopeless, sagging posture when he realized he was out of bullets.

Ruben thought his name was Cecil, but he couldn't be sure.  
..but he would never forget the wide-eyed fear that came off of him in waves as Ruben raised his gun. The acceptance, the forgiveness as he closed his eyes for the last time.

The police rounded the crate in all of a moment, only to find some dust.

Glancing around now, around the shabby, one-story building that served as the meeting place for the current business-in-progress, Ruben sighed. It was caught by the few members of the other gang, who watched him suspiciously, but Ruben didn't pay them any mind.  
They were all specifically told not to do anything until either their leaders walked out, or gunshots were fired.  
They all valued their lives enough not to throw them away.

When the leaders came out, all was silent.  
With pent breath, Ruben watched as the leaders turned to each other, facing each other head on.. and shook hands.

A silent sigh of relief seemed to sweep throughout the room, and everyone left the building, and went on their way.  
It was days like these that being in a gang didn't seem so bad.

"Ruben, I have a task for you."  
Ruben turned towards the leader, glancing at him while bowing his head respectfully.

It was then that a scuffle was heard from behind them, and the very-recently-allied gang had produced one of their own members.  
Ruben could have sworn that they looked familiar, but..

"Ruben."

It was in that moment, that he understood. One of their own had been caught undercover of a rival gang.. if Ruben had to guess, elimination of the rat by his own gang must be one of the contract agreements. Those type of agreements happened all the time, after all.  
As he caught on, Ruben came to realize one of the other truths to being in a gang.

..it was days like these that made being in a gang the worst sort of fate.

In one effortless movement, he smoothly raised his gun, and shot the other in the head, point blank. Blood spattered the ground behind him, the other two didn't even flinch.  
Ruben was just thankful that this guy didn't beg, he didn't get on his knees and grovel, like some lesser men (and admittedly, a few monsters) did. This man, had been one of the few humans in the gang. He was a good person, and had often shared a watered-down drink with Ruben after a taxing day of business. It had all stopped when he went undercover a few years ago. Ruben felt a little bad about forgetting his old friend, yet at the same time, you can't have friends if you want to survive.

Ruben didn't need to turn to know his leader had walked away by this point.  
Instead, he watched as the other two each took an arm and hauled the dead man away down the dark alley they came from.  
Ruben turned to follow his leader.  
There was no point in dwelling on the past right now.

It was quiet, as he followed his leader to their ever-changing, new headquarters. It had to change pretty frequently when the police would be onto you within a matter of weeks. Every two weeks or so, sometimes sooner, the gang would find a new place to conduct its business. Usually it only consisted of meetings, but sometimes Ruben would notice blood spatter on the ground, or the walls of rooms that were run down, or nearly rotted away.  
He was never asked to kill someone in headquarters, so he didn't complain. ..well. Not the more recent ones, anyways.

As he walked home, he was welcomed to the sight of his brother waiting for him on the couch.

"HOW WAS WORK?"  


"It.. went.." Ruben started sweating as his brother watched him.  
Scrutinized him, was more like it.

"THAT ISN'T A VERY REASSURING ANSWER."  
Tensing, Ruben started to sweat under his brothers sharp glare..  
This was going to be a long night.

 

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The ticking clock sounded throughout the house. Ruben didn't look up at his brother, despite the way Boss kept staring at him from his spot. 

"ARE YOU GOING THINKING ABOUT OUR ASSIGNMENT? IT ISN'T OFTEN THAT WE GET TEAMED TOGETHER. YOU SHOULD TAKE IT SERIOUSLY."

"Y-Yeah, Boss.. I'm taking I seriously.. I even met with the other team members earlier to make sure they know what they're doing," he fidgits in place.

"I WOULD HOPE SO. ONE HAS TO BE PREPARED TO PULL OFF A SUCCESSFUL HEIST," pausing for a moment, he continued, "THOUGH TO BE SURE, I HAVE ALSO MET WITH THEM. I HAD TO ENSURE THAT THEY CARRIED *SOME* FORM OF INTELLIGENCE."

"Heh, yeah.. it's been a time since we've stuck it out together. Ready for action? It's not too long away now-" At least there was always the method of distraction. 

"OF COURSE I'M READY!! TO INSINUATE THAT I WOULD BE SO CARELESS!! I'VE KNOWN THE TARGET FOR AGES, NOT TO MENTION MY AIM AND TACTICS ARE BETTER THAN YOURS!!"

"Yup. But ya gotta admit, Boss, we used to make one helluva team back when."

"WE STILL DO, ON THE RARE OCCASSION THAT WE GET SENT OUT TOGETHER.. NOT TO MENTION THAT IT'S MOSTLY _ME_ PICKIN' UP THE SLACK OUT THERE."

"Aww, c'mon Boss, I do my share of the load," chuckling at his brother, he relaxed back into his chair.

This was one of those rare moments where they were just brothers, a couple'a normal guys talking into the evening.. Ruben could appreciate that.

"YEAH, LOAD OF SLACKING," Grumbling to himself, he stops and squints at Ruben, "SPEAKING OF WHICH, WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG TO BE YOUR ASS BACK HOME?"

Ruben looked down awkwardly, and that was his doom.

"YOU WERE AT THE BAR *AGAIN?!* THAT'S THE FOURTH TIME THIS WEEK!!" Taking a deep breath, he exhaled slowly.

Then he got up and left the room, obviously more than irritated with his brother at the moment.

Ruben simply stood, making his way to the door.. might as well find a different timeline to dawdle in. Preferably a bar.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Ruben didn't know his way back to the bar that Red had led him too, but that was fine. He couldn't handle that stuff anyways. Besides, if Red was like himself, he went barhopping at different stops on the regular.  
The likelihood of ever seeing him again was practically infinitesimal.  
Ruben sighed, sitting upon the bar stool of a bar that he reoccurred to often, but not enough that they would consider him a regular.  
The Grillby here was warm, and quiet. Rarely ever spoke. Always let Ruben have as many drinks as he wanted, even though they were filled with mostly ice.. by the time Ruben got it, it was basically half-and-half watered down liquor.

The past week had sucked. Every night, he had went to the bar after enduring whatever torture his brother called training would send his way. Thankfully, it's only been a few losses and some insults, so Ruben counted his blessings. Work was work. He met a few new recruits, killed three of them in front of the other two, then killed the one that was going to bail.  
The three unfortunate souls were probably going to be good recruits; but if the leader didn't like the batch that got sent in, he would find a way to test them. Given, their leader didn't like any new guys; but nonetheless.  
Those five were definitely tested, alright.

Ruben sighed. Again. He had been doing that a lot these past few days.  
He knew there was no point in thinking about the past; and while he was at work, he didn't usually think about it- he was generally very focused (see: too distracted by his work).  
Ruben just.. couldn't stop reminiscing.

Until a handful of his ass that hung off the side of the barstool was grabbed rather roughly.  
Swiveling his skull around, Ruben was about to knock someone's lights out when he spotted familiar movement to his left that made him pause before he had the chance to swing.

"Hey Sweetcheeks, fancy meeting you here."


	2. Memories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two things:  
> First, Boss was way ooc in the first chapter; and I'll accept that I got him wrong.  
> He's still a dick, but I was wrong with the rest of his personality.
> 
> Secondly: credit for Ruben goes to http://rubentheruler.tumblr.com  
> Give them love; because they're the reason you guys still hear from me.

Turning away from his half-downed drink, Ruben looked at the one who decided that thought it was a good idea to get a handful of _what didn't belong to them-_ oh.

It's Red.

"Nice t' see ya again," chuckling, Red sat next to Ruben, ordering a drink for himself.

"What're you doing here, Red? A little far from home, aren'tcha?"  
Red shrugged, ignoring Ruben's question while he downed his beverage.

"Well ya see, not that it's any of yer fuckin' business, but my dip-shit bro wants my ass on the wall right now; for some stupid shit I didn't even do. Heh." His laugh was anything but humored.

Looking at him sideways, Ruben sipped at his own drink, having work again in a few hours.

"What? Take a picture, it lasts longer."  
Ruben tsked, returning to his drink.

"I can't fuck you tonight, I gotta work."  
Red scoffed in return, almost cutting him off with his reply,

"Ya think I wanna fuck yer fat ass every time I see ya? Must think of yer'self real highly."  
Ruben kept quiet, sipping his drink.

"Look, I'll tell ya this right now-"  
Ruben's phone went off.

"Sh-shit.. they're calling me in.. I gotta go, Red! I'll talk to ya later!!" Rushing out the door, Red just watched him leave, before turning back and finishing off his drink; and ordering another.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Ruben left the alleyway.

This was it.  
This was the place where his target resided.. and they've been spotted, several times, being real _chummy_ with the men in blue. Ruben grit his teeth, observing the two-story home cautiously. It was a real nice place, and the guy had a family.. though his wife recently separated from him with their kid, from what Ruben heard. Guy got caught with another girl in his room and the wife had a fit. Ruben had known this guy, distantly; his brother knew him better though. Keeping to the darkness of the alleyway for a little more than a half hour, Ruben kept an eye on the place. His team stood behind him, ready to take any evidence that this guy had to their mob.

Looks like everyone's asleep, there hadn't been any activity in the entire time Ruben had been watching; and supposedly the guy didn't know what was coming to him.  
Waving his team forward, Ruben slowly crept across the street, avoiding any light as much as he possibly could. From what he had heard, the man was a good spy- Ruben shushed one of the men who tripped over some sort of toy in the yard, while another one picked the locks. They couldn't be noisy now; the police station was too close by. The door squeaked open, and the team slipped inside, quiet as the night. Ruben advanced up the stairs first, only to be startled by a hand on his shoulder.

"Boss??"  
Boss nodded, slipping past Ruben and gliding up the stairs, deathly silent. Boss had been at his house before, at a meeting disguised as a barbecue. Knowing his brother, he had taken to looking around and making sure the place was secure while the others discussed business matters. The guy they were after had been a pretty highly recommended member of Boss' team a few times before, actually. Quietly opening a door, Boss signaled Ruben to wait, and snuck inside a dark room. It was a shame to see this guy a double-crosser; he had a good head on his shoulders..

_BANG_

Keywords.

"ALRIGHT YOU MONGRELS!! WE HAVE TWO MINUTES, AND WE NEED TO PULL OUT INFORMATION!! GET TO IT!!"

The three other men rushed about, gathering anything they could find that even remotely connected their target to their name.  
Suddenly, a siren wailed, entirely too close for comfort.

"FUCK, THEY WERE ONTO US," Boss flew down the stairs and into the kitchen for a few moments; then hurried towards the back door just to dodge into the side hallway, "UPSTAIRS!! THEY'RE COMING THROUGH THE BACK!!"

Ruben provided cover while two of his goons scrambled past.  
The third had been shot through the window, in his left shoulder. He was crawling towards the stairs before the police burst in the front door. Easily spotting him in front of them, they mowed him down. Boss hurdled the railing, ending up just behind Ruben half-way up the stairs. Ruben wasn't far behind as they make their way up the stairs. Black smoke is leaking from the kitchen, and flames are quick to follow; coming out from the corners of the kitchen and licking at the walls.  
The police shout about the fire, and between the gunshots and the gradual rising noise of the fire, the police come up the stairs after them. Ducking into the room on the left, which seemed to be a guest room, Ruben knelt around the corner and made sure his brother was covered until he took the second room on the left.. the guys room.

Ruben didn't know if that was ironic or fitting, but the thought was fleeting as he had other matters to attend to at the moment.  
A few steps away from the platform, the men in blue shot a spray of bullets, peppering the walls and narrowly missing Ruben's radius. Shooting at their abdomen, Ruben impaired the second officer up the stairs while Boss made a head shot. The two goons, one in the bathroom across the hall from Boss, if the sink told Ruben anything, and the other, across the hall from himself -Ruben couldn't make out what that room was- took out another two officers. The way they kept coming up the stairs, however, was making for a tense situation as the air got hotter.

One of the members went down outside of his cover across the hall, when he was shot in the chest.  
Another few shots into his torso, and he stopped moving. The man across from Boss was.. displeased.

"No!! _Tony!!_ "  
So that had been Tony, huh?

" _I'll kill you all for that!!_ " Firing rapidly, the man pulled out another hand gun and shot at the officers with incredible speed, and pretty good accuracy.

However, when he left his cover it was over for him.  
The guy took one to his chest and two to his face, falling backwards and going limp. At least he took out a few five or six guys; and wounded another three that Ruben and Boss were easily able to cap off. An explosion from the room he wasn't sure about rocked the house; something in the kitchen below must have exploded. Nearby windows shook and rattled, and Ruben could hear shattering glass.

The roaring of the flames and the shots fired by the other handful of officers, ducking just below the platform level.  
Combined with the new wailing in the distance, which Ruben would guess would be the fire wagon, Ruben could barley hear himself _think-_

There was crying.  
Ruben's head shot over to the room across from him and made eye contact with a toddler, who toddled into sight just beyond the door frame. They seemed to have been hiding before the explosion scared them out. He took in the big, fat tears that rolled down their scrunched face, their loud sobbing hushed by the bullets and fire.

"D-Daddyyy..!! _D-Daaaaa..!_ " They rubbed the tears out of their eyes in vain, their tiny fists not being able to stop the tears of fear.

With only a quick glance to the officers, who were mostly ducked down for the moment, and one to Boss -who squinted back at him like _bitch don't do it,_ \- Ruben ducked, then rolled across the way.  
He had to jump over the body of Tony, but once he was in the room he pulled the small child into his arms and took survey of the surroundings. Looks like whatever play structure in the corner was absolutely demolished; and fire was spreading from the hole in the floor, slowly melting the cheap carpet. The only thing that was still intact was the bed, but with how the temperature was starting to swelter in the room, the kid had probably been too hot in their hiding spot..

The child leaned against him, hiccuping and screaming in fear as the house rumbled again.  
Wrapping his arms around them, Ruben would at least try to make sure the kid got out alive.. looking out the door frame, he shouted at Boss as he shot down the hall with his free hand. His other arm held the child close to his chest, and they curled into his wrinkled and sweaty shirt, further dampening it with their snot and tears.

"I thought he was the only one in the house!!"

"THE FUCKING BRAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE WITH THEIR DAMN MOTHER!! NOW GET THE FUCK OVER HERE, THE REINFORCEMENTS HAVE ARRIVED!!"  
Growling, Ruben brought the kid close to his chest and rolled back across the hallway.

It took some squatting and a quick dash, but then he was in the same room Boss resided.  
The child, recognizing this room, started squirming and shrieking.

" _D-Daddy!! Daddy where awre youuu..!!_ "  
Ruben had to hold onto the squirmy bundle, to prevent them from seeing the corpse of their father.

"E-Easy kiddo..! Hey.. c-calm down, okay? You'll be alright..!"

"SHUT THE BRAT UP!! I CAN'T FOCUS!!"

Ruben hushed the child, rocking them while keeping them from escaping his grasp.  
They were screaming and wailing, choking a bit from how hard they were crying. Their little scrunched-up face was red, and they were covered in sweat and tears. 

_'Poor thing must be miserable..'_

"THERE'S A WINDOW DOWN THE HALL. IT SHOULD LEAD TO A FIRST FLOOR BUILDING, IN WHICH WE CAN GO TO THROUGH THE ALLEYS AND INTO THE SEWAGE SYSTEMS!!"  
Ruben could barely hear his brother despite being right next to him, but he managed to make out the plan.

The fire from the kids room erupted; a pipeline must have burst.  
The police had to back down, the stairs becoming an inferno.. which also made their spot intolerable, as well..

"NOW'S OUR CHANCE, LET'S GO!!"

"What?!"  
Grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, Boss hauled his brother up and dragged him towards the window.

Using the handle of his gun, Boss broke the window pane bars supporting the now nearly-empty slots.  
The broken glass littered the floor- some of it remained in the window, but Boss knocked what was left out of its slots. After clearing our the majority of the glass and breaking the windows support beams to create room for his larger brother, Boss jumped onto the roof of the next building, landing in a neat crouch.

Ruben wondered how he was gonna make it through carrying a kid..  
Using his shoe to clear away enough glass for the child to be set down, he stuck his leg out a window, then picked the child back up and continuing to make his way out.

He whole world went silent as he could feel a peppering of vibration against his stomach.  
Looking down, he looked at the child as they blood spilled down their lower lip. It spattered on their shirt, and a few flecks and drops sprayed his as well. Looking up at him weakly, they whimpered quietly.

"'M.. 'm scawred.. d.. don'.. l-leave me.."  
Staring down at the child in horror, Ruben nearly toppled over, Boss tugging on his leg and nearly pulling him over.

The child had slipped from his grasp while Boss suddenly yanked on Ruben's leg without warning.  
Hitting the floor, the child cried out in pain while Ruben took hold of either side of the window frame.

"W-Wait Boss-! _The kid!!_ "

"LEAVE THEM!!"  
A soft whine came from the floor below, the small frame looking up at the large monster with pained, pleading eyes.

Noises from down the hall caught his attention.  
More officers were trying to make their way through the fire, firing more shots and missing. Ruben sweated profusely, looking back down at the child. Between the sweaty locks of hair, life was slowly leaving their eyes.. they weren't going to survive long enough for the fire to even reach them..  
There was no hope for them.

Ruben's breath caught as his anger flared, hotter than the flames dancing a few yards away.  
Pulling out his pistol, he unloaded his bullets into the fire, trying to remember where the stairs would be in his rage. A few satisfying cries of pain rang out, and a couple 'retreats' as well. Ruben kept firing until his gun was empty, and even when it clicked, only empty slots remaining; he kept firing. For the first time in quite some time in the business, he could feel tears stinging his at the corners of his sockets. He wouldn't let them fall. The kid deserved better than what they got.. he would make those fuckers _pay-_

Lowering his gun, he was about to take one last look at the child when he closed his eyes.  
Ruben didn't want to see the dull eyes, the look of fear and pain being erased with the light. He allowed his brother to yank him out of his uncomfortable perch in the window, and he landed on his back on the roof below.

"WHAT _THE FUCK_ WAS THAT ABOUT!?"

"There was a kid, Boss.. that was on us. We should'a checked the other rooms first. That kid.. that's on _us._ "  
Boss was silent for a moment, drawing a deep, ragged breath, and releasing it in agitation.

"LET'S GO."

Boss gave Ruben a hand, and they both jumped down into the alleyway below before Ruben cringed.  
Oh. He had been shot.. guess they didn't miss after all. With his anger fading, Ruben, huffed, gritting his teeth as he let Boss lead the way; following after his brother clumsily.

"IT'S YOUR OWN FAULT YOU GOT SHOT, FUCKING IDIOT."

"Heh, I don't regret it. At least I tried to help the kid.."

Boss once again said nothing as he picked up a sewer grate, letting Ruben go first before he slid it back into place.  
The streets were swarming with authorities now, there was no way that they would be able to make it back without cutting through the sewers.. it would be a long, unpleasant, walk..

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

As soon as they made it back to the apartment, Ruben stumbled a bit through the doorway, and tried to bee-line for his room.

Boss wasn't about to have it.  
Grabbing Ruben by the back of the neck, he directed him into the kitchen and threw him towards the floor. Wasting no time, Boss made his way to the medicine cabinet in the bathroom and proceeded to take out the first aid kit. He also managed to knock out a couple of cigar packs, but he left them lay on the ground. Leaving the bathroom, he wasn't surprised to come out and find that Ruben was trying to sneak -very poorly, at that- out of the kitchen.

"RUBEN. YOU'VE BEEN SHOT. YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN."

"Ay, ay, Boss..! Doesn't mean there's a bullet.. could'a gone through..?"

Admittedly, Ruben didn't want to do this right now.  
He'd lost a bit of his magic by the time they had finally made it back home, soaking into his shirt.

Yet, when Boss came stomping towards him, Ruben couldn't help but internally scream.

Taking a fistful of his brothers collar, he pushed Ruben back a few steps, and forced Ruben to the floor.  
Opening the med-kit with one hand, Boss pulled out a pair of pliers.

"Boss, why the fuck do we still have those-"

"BECAUSE NO ONE IS GOING TO SELL 'NORMAL PEOPLE' MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, AND UNLESS YOU WANT FATHER TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR INABILITY TO AVOID BULLETS, THIS IS THE BEST WE CAN DO."  
Ruben gulped as Boss ripped open the shirt he wore.

Which is a damn shame, because he's only worn it a couple times.  
It was full of holes, though.. Ruben guessed about three? Shot three times.. he couldn't tell, since his entire torso felt like it was being stabbed repeatedly, all over. Like a million knives.

Splayed out over the floor, Ruben had suddenly realized that he was absolutely exhausted.  
Boss carefully spread open the shirt, exposing his overweight, magic-covered stomach and chest.

"GOD, RUBEN, YOU'RE A MESS."

"T-That bad, huh Boss..?"  
Boss swiftly glanced up at his brother, already working on getting the first bullet out.

Boss' tone became a bit more gentle.. almost leaning towards playfully laughing at his brother's expense.  
It was his tone that relayed to Ruben that it was rather serious. His brother was.. kind, but he kept that side hidden, unless he either felt safe enough to reveal himself.  
Or he was stressed out. Well, there was a third option: was that he was trying to calm his brother, which he was actually kind of good at.

"..YOU'VE DEALT WITH WORSE."  
Cringing from the pliers being used to separate the tender skin, Ruben barely kept his voice even.

"I-I guess now you can't say my jokes are too cheesy, h-huh?"  
Boss' face fell into a flat look of acceptance as he worked.

"OH. WHY IS THAT."

"Because I'm just like Swiss.. full'a holes, amIright? Heh.. heh," Ruben let his skull fall to the floor, feeling Boss pull out the bullet and hearing the _clink_ as he dropped it onto the floor.

After a few moments, Boss responded,

"THAT WAS ACTUALLY.. A GOUDA PUN."  
Looking up in shock, Ruben stared at his brother.

"..heh, heh heh, nice one, Boss," returning his head to the floor, Ruben grunted as Boss worked at the second bullet.

"THIS ONE IS DEEPER.. JUST- JUST _STAY._ "

Ruben groaned as Boss got off of him.  
His steps quick, Boss retreats to his room, grabbing a leather piece to his shoe shining kit, then comes back into the kitchen and shoves it into Ruben's mouth. Ruben, who of which is not pleased.

"Boff, whhaii-"

"IT'S GONNA HURT, AND I DON'T NEED YOU FUCKING UP YOUR MOUTH."

Without waiting any further, Boss slid the pliers into the open wound.  
Ruben bit down fiercely on his mouthful of leather while his brother dug around his chest with the pliers, shrieking when the tip of the tool nudged the bullet behind Ruben's floating rib.

"FIVE.. FOUR.."

Ruben braced himself, why did this situation seem familiar-  
Suddenly, Boss yanked out the bullet before he even said three, and Ruben groaned in pain, locking his teeth against the bit of leather in his mouth.

A _clink_ as the second bullet hit the floor.

"HALF WAY.. JUST BREATH YA BIG BABY-"  
Ruben didn't even get a moment of respite before Boss had managed to rip out the third..  
 _Clink._

Wait; _halfway?_

The last one was lodged in his gut, barely missing his stomach.  
Ruben looked up his brother before Boss got to work. Squinching his sockets shut, Ruben grit his teeth.. the pain was god awful, but his bro was right; he had been through worse.

The last one popped out easily.  
The last _clink_ on the floor, and Boss was using Ruben's shirt to wipe up the magic that was sluggishly leaking out of his wounds.

"THERE! THAT WASN'T SO BAD, WAS IT NOW?"

As he started dressing Ruben's wounds, Ruben let out a shaky laugh.  
He was beyond exhausted, his anger long gone, and his adrenaline finally wearing off. After Boss sat Ruben up, he applied some bandages and helped Ruben stand.

Then he noticed it.

"B-Boss!! Why didn't ya tell me you got _shot?!_ "

"BECAUSE YOU WERE IN MUCH WORSE A CONDITION. MY BULLET WENT RIGHT THROUGH. AFTER I DRESS MINE I CAN WRAP THEM AND BE FINISHED. SIMPLE."  
The bullet hole in Boss' upper shoulder didn't show; it wasn't until Ruben spotted the magic running down his arm that he even noticed.

"Boss.."

"GO TO BED, RUBEN. YOU'LL NEED THE REST; BECAUSE TOMORROW YOU'LL FEEL LIKE SHIT."

"Y-Yeah.. okay Boss," casting one last glance at his brother, Ruben stumbled down the hall and was about ready to collapse mid-step when he felt two lanky arms support him.

"..I ALMOST FORGOT HOW MUCH MAGIC YOU LOST, YOU CLUTZ."

"..heh.. thanks Boss.."

Arriving at Ruben's room, Boss had to struggle a bit, between Ruben and the handle of the door before he finally got it open.  
After, he lugged his brother over and let him fall onto the bed with an _oof._

Boss turned and headed towards the door while Ruben grunted and whined, taking a few minutes until he got comfortably situation ed.  
He had just reached the door when, pausing with his hand on the door handle, he turned back to look at his brother. Ruben lay there, half-covered in his blankets and already snoring. Boss sighed, quietly making his way back over before he glared down at Ruben. His glare softened momentarily, and he quickly moved to take the blanket and wrap it more firmly around his larger brother. Once he was finished, he once again left the room, pausing at the doorway before heading out into the hallway to clean up the mess.

Once he finished cleaning the magic off the floor in the kitchen -which was the hardest part, as magic was a bitch when it stained- Boss started throwing away all the used supplies and bringing the rest of the kit to his room.  
Leaving his door slightly ajar, Boss stripped his shirt with a grunt of pain before he started applying medicine to his wounds and wrapping them. Startling, Ruben remembered that he forgot something.. rolling himself over (rather painfully), he looked over towards the light shining through his doorway. Spotting Boss wrapping a bandage around his shoulder, Ruben watched him for as long as he could before he passed out again.. which, admittedly, wasn't very long. He didn't have much energy after the shit day he's had. Between the physical exertion of the mission they had lost, and the emotional and mental exertion of trying to save a kid that _wasn't even supposed to be there-_ Ruben had experienced a truly exhausting day.. but at least he still had his brother, and he was grateful for that. Boss, on the other hand, had just finished fixing himself up before he changed out of his dirtied clothes and threw on a shirt. Then, he went to bed.. and promptly passed out.

 

Turns out he didn't have much energy either.

 

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**\--BONUS--**

 

Ruben woke up the next morning, exhausted to beat hell.

It felt like he didn't even sleep.  
He hadn't even rolled over when he could feel the stabbing pain through his abdomen, the gun shots from the night before easily drew out a groan from his throat, his pain evident on his face. Finally managing to force himself up into a sitting position, he wriggled his way to the edge of the bed, and with a grunt, swung his legs over the side. Planting his feet firmly on the ground, Ruben took a moment to rest, the pain slowly edging away after a few minutes of staying still. After his brief respite, he rocked back once, then stood up.

Groaning, Ruben waddled over to his door, and was about to make his way down the hall when he backtracked a few steps.  
Peeking into his brother's room, he wasn't surprised to find that Boss' bed was empty and made. Walking in, Ruben pressed his hand into the material. Cold. His brother has been awake for a while now, then. Quickly leaving his brothers room, Ruben closed the door and bee-lined towards the kitchen. Walking into said room, he was surprised to find Boss was sitting at the table, holding the paper in his slender fingers while the other nursed a cup of coffee.

"..how long have you been up..?" Shuffling further into the kitchen, Ruben reached up to the cabinet for a mug and grimaced, yet still snagged one before he let himself lower his arm again.

"LONG ENOUGH. YOU'VE SLEPT IN LATE, AGAIN. I'VE EVEN BEEN OUT TO GATHER THE PAPER BEFORE YOU GOT OUT OF BED," Boss paused, "I'M ACTUALLY RATHER SURPRISED YOU WOKE UP THIS EARLY, CONSIDERING ALL THE MAGIC YOU HAD LOST LAST NIGHT."

"Heh.. yeah," secretly, Ruben was surprised he woke up this early as well; his bed wasn't soaked in magic though, so the bullet wounds must have at least clotted last night.

"YOU SHOULD CHANGE YOUR BANDAGES LATER; I HAVE TO GO BACK TO REPORT WHAT HAPPENED." Standing, Boss placed rinsed his now-empty mug in the sink and made his way to the front door, only taking long enough to snag his over-coat before he left.

Filling up his own mug, Ruben decided he would change his bandages after he looked into the paper for a bit.  
Taking a sip of his coffee, Ruben browsed the paper for half an hour. Nothing new. The burned down house would probably be in tomorrows paper instead. Ruben continued reading through it, glancing through the usual material they have in the paper. Finishing off his now luke-warm coffee, he set down the paper that Boss had discarded and stood, making his way towards the bathroom. He knew he wasn't going to like what he had to do; but he had dealt with infection before, when he was younger and more reckless.

Now, as he stood in front of the mirror in last nights pair of slacks, Ruben could see that the bandages had bled through a bit.  
Now he would have to re-check his bed to see what the damage was.. sighing, Ruben reached into the cabinet and pulled out the medical kit. Preparing to re-dress his wounds, Ruben took the items from the med-kit and set them on the sink counter. Then, retrieving a fresh cloth, he placed that on the counters edge as well. Slowly, he undid his brothers handiwork, and revealed the bullet wounds. They didn't look so bad, now that they've had time to clot over. They would probably heal really well if he took care of them this time.

Wetting the cloth, Ruben gently cleansed the wounds of excess magic that had managed to clot outside of the actual wounds.  
Then, after rinsing it a few times, he carefully patted the four holes down. It stung when he applied the cool cloth to the open wounds, but the sensation of the cool temperature dulled the pain, if only a tiny bit. After he finished with the cloth, he started applying the medicine to the specific areas. He tried to use as little as possible, because they didn't have much.. and who knew when they would be able to get any more. Finally, when the application had been completed to the best of his ability, he took the bandages and re-wrapped his midsection. Thankfully, bandages were something that were available to most common folk, so that he and Boss could get at that easily enough.

Once he was done, he tossed the old bandages and re-packed the medical kit, placing it into the cabinet.  
He was exhausted once again, and Ruben had only changed his dressings. Running the used cloth under some water, he tried to scrub out as much magic as he could before he went back to bed. It was mostly out of the cloth now, albeit trace amounts could still be seen; but still.. it wasn't very noticeable. Boss would probably be on him when he seen the small stains, but Ruben couldn't care less at the moment. He would take the heat when he got it, for now.. meandering down the hall, Ruben spotted his bed from around his door frame, and that only made him move faster.

Well, momentarily.  
Once he started walking too quickly, he had inadvertently aggravated his wounds. Slowing back down, he had managed to close the distance between himself and his bed, save a few steps. Then Ruben realized.. he should probably throw on a different pair of pants. His current ones were not only slacks, but they also were a bit scuffed and torn.. nothing some patch work couldn't fix, though. Sliding off his pants, he let them fall to the floor and left them there, throwing on a pair of sleep wear pants. Before slipping back the covers of his bed, looking around for any stray magic spots from his wounds. He spotted a few, but with all of the other stains that were faded into his sheets, Ruben couldn't care less. Crawling into bed, he would -once again- face that fire when it starts raging out of control.

Plopping his skull onto the pillow, he was less than pleased when his mind wouldn't shut down.  
His frame was still so tired from their evening task, that Ruben didn't quite understand why he couldn't achieve sleep. As he lay there, in bed, he let his mind wander. He hoped Boss wouldn't have any issues with the way it went down.. there was no way that the team could have predicted that the men in blue were around the corner. Ruben recalled the little child, and sighed. It was an unpleasant experience in itself, but the memory of their fear and desperation would never leave him. That was easily the worst part.. collateral damage..

It slightly disgusted him, that he had begun to think of people that way.  
However, when you're raised like he had been, it was hard for Ruben to actually see a target as someone.. though he was grateful when he didn't actually know who they were beforehand. He's had to take out a few friends before, and the first time killed him inside. He tried to avoid situations that hold children.. no one really liked watching a kid get killed. Ruben was one of the ones who liked it the least. Instead, he went after the ones that were an inconvenience to their group, or the members that ratted to the police, for instance. Or he'd be teamed with his brother and they would take on the more dangerous tasks assigned. Now, Ruben rested in his bed, turning over carefully and huffing a bit as he tried to get comfortable.

A yawn found it's way to his face, and he huffed and grunted until he was comfortable.  
After pulling the blankets over his skull, Ruben finally felt the fuzzy tendrils of sleep grasp at the corners of his mind. They were blurring his thought process and slowly stopping his coherent mind ramblings.

It took about twenty minutes, but Ruben could finally feel his sockets drooping shut.

 

Sleep was finally in his grasp, and it took him easily.


End file.
